West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1887-02-24
AFTER NIGHT THE DAWN.


The door Of the country school-room
closed behind the last noisy pupil, and
the young teacher was alone. She
bowed her head wearily upoa her hand,
and looked around the bare, comfortless
room, with its hard benches, curtainless
windows, and rusty, broken stove, with
shuddcr OF sgust
There were days and this had been
one when every Lber Of her sensitive
being shrank from association with the
motley crowd of urchins, and from con
tact with the dirty, dog s-eared books.
The grimy desks, and dingy walls; but
she never allowed these feelings to in.
fuence her; the duties Of her position
were conscientiously performed. the
more SO, perhaps, because they were so
disagreeable.
She had dismissed school an hour
prior to-day, ostensibly to enable her to
correct the compositions handed in for
to-morrow's reading; really because she
had seen Roy Carlton drive by, and
knew that he would return to ask her
company for an hours drive behind his
handsome bays; and she had tod her
self that she would-becausc she must -
refuse, henceforth and forever, all things
that he might ask of her; and she
wished 10 have little time to strengthen
herself to "have her dark hour unseen -
before she should shut the gate forever
between that world of ease and happi-
ness, and, more than all else, OF Rows
love, and her world Of poverty, loncli-
ness and sorrow
She could not help but love him. he
had laid so many drifts Of sunshine
across her otherwise shadowed pathway,
had been such a rock Of rc.u,e i'm her
desert OF fricndlessnes since she came.
over year ago, to this drcary little vii.
lage TO earn her living by teaching.
Nhe had not chosen this vocation. not
because she lik Il it, for she did not, but
because she felt that She was prepared
for 1t, and there seemed to be no place
for her elsewhere in the ranks of work
crs.
She was not fitted TO do battle with ihe
grim ticnd of poverty; she had. until
two years before, 'fcd on the roses. and
lain IN the lilies OF life Then came
the death Of her father, folio sed almost
immediately by that of her mother, and
she was left unpreparcd to face the world
alone.
Her fathers wealth, which she alwav,
supposed from their style Of living to be
ample, faded away before the demands
OF his creditors like snow in the spring.
time. Her high sense Of honor would
not allow her To- hold back even the old
homestead and household furniture. O
dear from the associations clustering
around it, aud rcscrvihg but one or two
orticles, She allowed the r.st. even her
piano, 10 be sold.
Her summer friends driftcd away one
by one, aud she noted their derarturc
with scarcely sigh over their defect on.
Was IL because she realized OF how little
worth wa their evancsccnt friendship
or had her heart, suffering deeper
wound, become dead 10 the ,martng Of
these lesser hurt,t
Harry Vance had been her ideal o. "a
gentleman. She had cherished for h m
4 ong friendship. which before her
fathers dea j., had hidden fair to ripcu
into love; his attentions had been very
!oyer-like, and this small world I'm which
the two moved had already il magma
ton, coupled their names together. when
he clouds Of misfortune ,hrouded her
and he, with some trite sentence. OF con
dolencc upon his tongue. had steppcd
uimb'y out OF their shadow. p-obahl;
congratulating himself that lac had NOT
gone so far but what IL was still easy 10
rectdc.
She sighed, not for him, but Tor her
shattered ideal, when she saw that b..
sought out % shallow. bsainlcss favorite
ol fortune, and sought Dy vigorous
"ouftship to obtain her hand in marriage
and po 'scss on OF the property hs knew
.hc he'd in her own right and I'm that
sigh q halcd the last lingering rcrmmc
Of the friendship Eliicc Gray bad feIf
not Tor Harry oucc but for thc mum She
had Imagined him 90 be, aud in f.. pllc .
grew loathing and contempt fof lIarr.
ancc, the fortune hunter iutcnsi cd on
hundred fold, when. later .hc heard ar
thc debts and duns that h1rras.rd Dis
pathway. For strictI, up,irhlard hon
orable cself, she could tolerate no dis.
honesty in others, aud in her rocabuIa-
hclt and debt without means or into1
ION of p1y emit were Synonymous term.
'Nany heart is caught boo the r.
bound proved true in thi- case. for II.
ice bad came 20 i-lifte village 90 lo d.
lhc heart That bad neyc. really been m
llarr = keeping
She know Roy Wy .uld a.k hcr to brl,.
WIZ. tHN Nil' NaN allowed herself tI
dream ot how happy .ho coul b witE
him with what blessed sense of ro.
and peace She could creep into th. She.
ter Of his manly mm. and lay hrr head
upon his loving breast But now the
awakening bad come aud the dream w4.
over. She had loved him o. entirely for
himself for that great gcucrou, hcar of
bis That seemed lar G enough 60 take i1
All mankind as brOfhcrs tlat .ho had
not once thought of fhe difference m
their rcumstuce for hc was rich as
.hc was poor
Vow She had heard her name coupled
with the obnoxious terms adventure s..
and fortune hunter and tho pr1phc by
hat 'If Mr. Carlton mari d her be-
would soon know, e., did all others thIt
it was his wealth that won hcr."
She did not know that the remark had
been made expressly for her car. had
been made too. with theunuttcrod homo
that ITS barbej bitterness might rankic
in her heart for had she not dared to
kindly but uumista kablr, refuse the at
tentious of tho speakers soD3